Like a Dream
by samira403
Summary: A Dramione wedding in the most unexpected of places, but one that is special and unique to them. Draco finds his redemption and Hermione finds her happy-ever-after. Fluff


**House: **Slytherin

**Year: **3

**Category: **Standard

**Prompt:** [Setting] Durmstrang Institute (Northern Europe)

**Word Count: **1507

* * *

Hermione stood on a part of the rampart overlooking a breath-taking lake with waters as clear as glass and a magnificent ship moored to its shore. She breathed in the crisp fresh air of the mountains and basked in the peacefulness of the scenery before her. It looked like it was going to be a pretty spring day again. She wished Durmstrang wasn't so strict about the use of their memory charms. The young witch so wished she could remember in what part of Northern Europe they were.

"Enjoying the view?" Draco asked her amused, coming to stand next to her.

"Very much so. Everything looks so grand here," she replied, closing her eyes to savour the sound of gently lapping water.

"Here," he said, pushing a bunch of flowers into her hands, "I got these for you."

Hermione studied the deep purple petals and felt a happy smile stretch her lips. On a delighted laugh, she teased, "Draco Malfoy, are you flirting with me?"

He scoffed lightly, returning her smile with a smirk of his own. "Hardly seems necessary after three years of dating, don't you think?"

"Well you never know. I might find a handsome Bulgarian seeker while we're here and decide to live the rest of my life with him."

Draco only shook his head and gestured for her hand.

"You wouldn't be here if you were going to break my heart and elope with a fumbling oaf. Walk with me?"

Hermione slapped his arm in chastisement for his comment but slipped her hand in his anyway. They turned to their left and continued her stroll on the wall.

The rampart surrounded the Durmstrang Institute, interspersed here and there with towers that led down to the bailey. It lacked the size of Hogwarts but you could feel the thrum of magic anywhere you walked.

"How did your meeting with the Institute's Board go? Did you and the Headmistress manage to get through to them the vision you have for the school?" she asked casually.

"I would say it was a success. Kristina is very fierce and knows her mind. It made the whole thing go smoothly."

"Kristina huh? I thought you had a lot of misgivings about 'yet another woman heading a magical school'."

Draco ducked his head in guilt and replied sheepishly, "I was wrong. You were right. The school may actually fair better with a witch at the helm. Merlin knows there is no one more worthy of the mantle then McGonagall for Hogwarts."

Hermione felt the happiness already bubbling inside her expand and warm her heart. She gave his hand a squeeze; an indication of how proud she was to be by his side nowadays. It went without saying that their last three years together had been one fraught with challenges. They both had domineering, opinionated personas that they had learned to shave off to become a driven, passionate and impossibly well-balanced couple.

"Did she manage to convince them to drop the dueling programme?" the witch asked as he helped her down an uneven stone staircase leading off the wall towards the lake.

With a thump, he jumped the rest of the steps and lifted her off gently, setting her back on the grass. Draco tucked her flowers in his coat pocket and offered her his arm.

"No, but they agreed to take the aggressiveness down a notch. They claim that the martial arts and dueling prowess of their students were things Durmstrang was proud of. They had no intention of changing that," he explained as she steered them towards a bench along the water.

"How much of your input, as consultant, have they agreed to consider?" she questioned curiously.

"All of them actually," he replied with an incredulous laugh. At the look of surprise on her face, he grinned and continued, "Yeah, both Kristina and I thought that the Board only accepted to hear my opinions because I was a pure-blood. Turns out they actually cared more about what the reformed Death Eater had to say."

"So, they are going to change their curriculum to take out all that Dark Magic they teach the children?"

"Yes, officially as of this September, there would only be mentions of Dark Arts in their History classes. Otherwise all classes are going to be subject to censorship of the more dangerous materials."

They stopped in front of the bench and with the water reflecting a storm of hues in her eyes, Hermione reached up to press a lingering kiss on his lips.

"I am so proud of what you've done here, Draco," she said.

He brushed a hand in her untamed mane and smiled down at her with more love than he'd ever felt for any other person in his life.

With a skeletal ship behind them and sprawling snow-capped mountains to their side, Draco held both of her hands in his and dropped to one knee.

"Hermione Granger, here in this place and moment, I cannot think of anyone else who would have pushed me to be so good and achieve what I've done today. I also cannot imagine sharing my life with anyone else but you. I swear by Salazar that I will do what it takes to help you achieve all of your dreams and be worthy of your love if you let me. Will you marry me?"

* * *

**_One year later_**

Hermione descended the steps of the Durmstrang keep and smiled at Harry who was waiting for her at the bottom of the steps. Her white gown was very simple, a long fitted satin column that wrapped around her body comfortably and she wore the softest, most exquisite cape over it. Despite the protests of her family and friends, Hermione had insisted for a winter wedding. After all, if it was to be a Scandinavian- tentative geographical guess on her part- she would make the most of the most beautiful season Northern Europe had to offer.

As Harry led her out to the courtyard by the arm, Hermione steadied her breathing by studying the walls. Most were bare, with the exception of a couple of interspersed display cases for some martial arts weapons and student body communication. The flames from the torches lit their way, their crackles mingling with the clicks of her white heels.

She could still remember Draco's expression when she'd expressed her wish to be married at Durmstrang. He had been shell-shocked, thinking she was somehow saying this because of him. He was right to some extent. Here, Draco had finally found his peace of mind. He had done selfless deeds for the students of Durmstrang, from the goodness of his heart and not just penitence for having brought Death Eaters to the students of Hogwarts. People in Durmstrang did not flinch on hearing the name Malfoy, instead they smiled gratefully. Draco had found solace and had proposed to her here. It would forever be a special place for them.

However, for the young witch, there had also not been a single night, since their engagement last spring, when she had not dreamed of kissing Draco under the same tree, with the peninsula frozen next to them and the sweeping landscape covered in snow. The mountains and the ship alight by the moon, serving as backdrop for her first night as Mrs Granger-Malfoy. The dream was akin to a moment captured in a snow globe and she was a witch by Morgana, the brightest of her age; so, she could definitely make her fantasy come to life.

Harry and her walked out of the building into the courtyard. Ginny stood closest to them, ready to walk down the aisle first as was her duty of matron-of-honour. Somehow, her friends had managed to turn the military-looking space into a dreamy wedding scene, wafting with the sweet scent of flowers and the weeping of a harp entertaining the guests as they waited for her arrival.

A pergola had been erected in the centre of the courtyard to act as an altar. She did not dare raise her eyes to search for Draco yet, for fear of her heart exploding in her chest before she'd made it down the aisle. She took a moment to memorise this instant; the faces of all those closest to her and her future husband turned towards her, the soft orange light from floating orbs – courtesy of Ron's Deluminator- warming the scene like a thousand tiny fireflies.

There were bouquets of white carnations and peonies everywhere, on the back of the guests' chairs, in urns lining the aisle, on the arches of the pergola. And in some of them, someone must have tucked away tiny prisms because Hermione could swear that she saw rainbows reflected here and there, like the morning light through icicles after a heavy snowstorm.

"Ready?" Harry whispered in her ear.

She took a deep breath and nodded. To the delicate notes of the bridal march filling the air, Hermione took her first steps on the happiest journey of her life.


End file.
